SF Blog - The Blog about San Francisco

UC Berkeley Students Took Their Dance to The Streets a bit of Riot!

dance, News, riot, streets, students, uc berkeley

Bus refuses to Stop after Cyclists Bumps into the Bus!

max — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:04:51 +0000

Here’s an interesting news about a cyclist being hit by a muni bus and kept driving away:

[5-Fulton passenger Mary] Chancey said around 10 bus riders implored the driver to stop following the 8:30 collision — but he instead left the scene. When SF Weekly arrived just before 8:40, the young female cyclist was lying in the middle of the road, and police and fire soon arrived.

Now that’s what SFWeekly wrote and that’s what the bus riders would do, side with the bicyclist.

Here’s the bus driver’s story:

Well sir, a cyclist was trying to squeeze between some cars and a bus, and she slipped on those white circular raised bumps (in sweeping arrow formation) that attempt to separate the Muni and car lanes. So she loses balance on her bike and thuds against the side of a bus, and then to add insult to injury Muni rolls over her bike.

Let’s not jump to conclusions here because I had almost exactly same incident in my old place in Richmond district.

I was driving back from a restaurant after having couple drinks. I wasn’t intoxicated or anything but I almost hit a bicyclist that night.
What happened was that I stopped at the stop sign right in front of my apartment and as I was starting to get going again, a bicyclist came fast going diagonally across the whole 4-way stop section. I immediately hit my brakes and I did not hit the bicyclist but he sorta stopped too and fell on his side.

Since I did not hit the biker and he was illegally going too fast over the stop signs without looking, I figured I’d park my car in my apartment garage, which was like 30 feet away.

Some bystanders came by the bicyclist and thought I was hitting and running away and they called the fire department. I was really nervous because I had a few drinks and I didn’t even hit the biker, he just stopped and fell over by himself.

Anyways, I ran over to the biker after I parked my car by my apartment and I asked him if he was okay. He was furiously mad because he thought I should have stopped my car there and make a big scene out of it.

Well, the fire truck came about 5 minutes later. They came up to me and asked me what happened, I told them what happened that this guy was screeching without stopping on a 4-way stop residential street and I hit my brakes then the guy stopped and fell by himself.

Then the firemen asked the biker if he was hit by my car. Of course, because I had not hit him, he said “no”. After that, the firemen had this funny look like, “why the hell did you call 911 then.”

Anyways, I felt bad for the biker for having such a traumatic experience but the fact remains that he wasn’t in control of his bike and he fell by himself.

If I had parked my car at the scene, it would certainly would have looked like I was the bad guy plus they probably would have called the cops then probably test me for alcohol. But I wasn’t drunk, I was pretty darn sure I was way below the legal limit.

The point is that if they did test me and I tested for even small level of alcohol AND supposedly the biker decided to say I hit his bike, that could have lead to a lot more consequences I shouldn’t have to face because I never hit the guy, he fell by himself.

This is why I think the bus driver probably didn’t hit the cyclist, the cyclist probably bumped on those road bumps then fell on the muni bus. Of course, it might have been a good idea to stop the bus and help her but realize that in those circumstances, the “crowd” is usually wrong because they jump to conclusions.

In my case, I had 2 of my friends in my car (glad they were there to be witnesses) but all the random strangers who called in 911 (there were like 5 of them), thought I had hit this biker!

Really, if the muni bus driver “hit” the cyclist by maneuvering his big-ass bus to the right or left (which I highly doubt on such a busy street), that’d be something but under those circumstances, I would have to side with the bus driver, especially if he was already side-by-side with the bike.

If muni bus came after the biker though, perhaps the bus driver could be at fault.

I know there’s a lot of good bikers out there but that biker shouldn’t be risking her life in those “bumps”, that’s just plain stupid especially in one of the busiest places in San Francisco.

If the biker in fact did hit the “side of the bus”, then that proves it wasn’t the bus, it was the biker who thrashed herself into the bus. I know, I feel bad for the biker too but the reality is, let’s not blame the bus driver if it wasn’t his fault. Hitting the front of the bus on the other hand, is another whole story.

And you crowds out there or mobs, stop trying to be such caring, great people you are unless you saw the incident clearly yourself, it’s only hurting the real innocent people who did in fact nothing wrong.

Bus refuses to Stop after Cyclists Bumps into the Bus!

Bikes, bumps, Bus, bus_ride, cyclist, News

15,000 SF City Workers Will get Layoffs than Re-hired!

max — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:15:07 +0000

Mayor Gavin Newsom is going to try a new plan that will help city reduce its $522 million budget deficit by laying off 15,000 SF city workers and re-hired them for slightly shorter hours. This will cut their paycheck by 6.25 percent.

I guess this is a deperate, last measures to collect some money for the city while allowing every city worker to keep their jobs.

What do I think?

I think this is a great idea, especially if there’s no alternative solutions. City workers will have to suffer 6.25 percent in their salaries but this is better than laying off some of the city workers permanently.

Another thing I have noticed is lack of security on San Francisco MUNI. There’s basically no “checks” for paid people on MUNI for many, many MUNI stops. If they can somehow figure out a way for everyone to pay, that’d certainly be millions of dollar that they are losing on.

Newsom’s controversial plan to help reduce the city’s $522 million budget deficit for the 2010-11 fiscal year would shift the majority of the city’s 26,000 workers from a 40-hour week to 37 1/2 hours, cutting their paychecks by 6.25 percent.

15,000 SF City Workers Will get Layoffs than Re-hired!

layoff, News, sf city workers

Ridiculous Law Being Discussed – Sitting on your Home’s Sidewalk may become illegal!

max — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:02:26 +0000

Are you joking me? Has the city lawmakers gone nuts?

They are proposing a new bill that will make sitting on sidewalks illegal. Of course, this is intended to solve the problems of drug addicts smoking crack on the sidewalks but come one, is this going to really solve those problems?

San Francisco’s lawmakers are debating a proposed law that would ban sitting or lying on sidewalks throughout the city, a move critics say targets the homeless.

The bill brought forward by Mayor Gavin Newsom to the city’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is believed to be the broadest of its kind in the nation, as it would ban anyone from sitting or lying on sidewalks from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and would apply even in front of one’s own home.

I am not homeless nor am I a drug-addict but I personally like sitting on sidewalks at time to have a smoke. What the fu** is wrong with that?

Perhaps sidewalks have been used by drug-addicts and homeless as a chair but you can’t make that illegal.

Seriously, are you going to let cops have the right to arrest my 5 year old kids when they are sitting on the curb in front of my HOUSE?!?

I don’t care what the great reasons for making sidewalks illegal are, you must come up with a better solution than this.

Simply put, this law allows cops wide discretion to arrest people for doing basically nothing at all, completely at will. Ominous for its crystal clarity, one particularly Orwellian slide entitled “Customized for Our City” showed a crowd of happy people on the Golden Gate Bridge, with a series of captions about the law including, “Enables Preventative Intervention, Before Accident or Crime Occurs.” To emphasize the point, [assistant police chief Kevin] Cashman said that unlike other laws which focus on criminal acts, this would “prevent a criminal act from occurring in the first place.”

via rawstory

Ridiculous Law Being Discussed – Sitting on your Home’s Sidewalk may become illegal!

illegal, News, Politics, ridiculous law, sidewalk ban

Gun Rights Activists Hog Bakers Beach!

max — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:24:35 +0000

Bakers Beach is one of my favorite beaches in San Francisco on a sunny day. Of course, it’s famous as a nudist hangout.

I guess yesterday, when the tsunami warnings were in San Fran, some gun rights activists came out of nowhere to carry their guns visibly in Bakers Beach:

The men – and some women – are part of an ad hoc group trying to increase awareness of gun rights by visibly holstering them in public.

They’ve had more controversial events, such as at a Starbucks, which allows the open carrying of guns. But Saturday marked the first time they’d come to San Francisco.

They chose Baker Beach because it’s part of the National Park system, where as of last week, it is legal to openly carry a handgun.

While I have no problems with Gun Rights activists, I think they should really go somewhere else to get their message across and Baker Beach should be left alone for nudists and families.

Use common sense, go where you are going to protest against your enemy, not against people relaxing at the beach. I would probably hold a protest in front of City Hall with signs instead seriously.

Don’t do things you wouldn’t others would do to you, karma baby.

Seriously, I don’t need my 2 year old child seeing any guns when we are at the beach, THAT is my point folks. Go far away from kids first and don’t ruin other people’s weekend at the beach relaxing, not watching people with guns, even if it’s legal and unloaded.

Don’t you think so?

Also, personally, I don’t believe in guns unless there’s a national threat. Even then, we have came way too technologically advanced to have any reasons to use guns period. The percentage of people who die every year in the U.S. from accidental gun shots is very high, the percentage of people who die every year from accidental gunshots in South Korea is ZERO! Why? No one is allowed to have guns in South Korea, there’s ZERO chance of anyone getting shot by accidents. Gangsters use knifes to kill each other, they physically fight. Yes, it takes longer but that’s just more lives saved.

Let us learn from history of other parts of the world too. Perhaps guns are okay to have still but really, do people need to use them other than emergencies or hunting? Think about that.

Gun Rights Activists Hog Bakers Beach!

bakers beach, Beaches, gun rights activists, News

Raffle for a Dream House in Noe Valley, San Francisco!

max — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:12:30 +0000

David Perry just alerted me on raffle the city’s 2nd Annual Yerba Buena Center for the Arts “Dream House Raffle”.

Basically each raffle ticket is $150 and odds of winning something (even if not the house itself) is 100 to 1. Not bad odds at all when you consider you can have a chance of winning your dream home.

This is the definition of a ‘win win,” says Kenneth J. Foster, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Executive Director. “Last year’s raffle raised more than a million dollars to support the world-class art and artists for which Yerba Buena Center has become internationally known. And, of course, one lucky person walked away a lot happier and richer.”

This year’s luxurious “Dream House” – located in the upscale Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco – is valued at $3 million. A $150 raffle ticket buys a chance to win the 3,000 square foot Arts and Crafts home. The Grand Prize winner chooses either the Dream House or $1.5 million in cash. Close to 400 other prizes are also available, guaranteeing that every ticket buyers has a 1 in 100 chance of winning a prize.

You can buy raffle tickets on March 3rd, in just 4 days at SFRaffle.com.

I think I will buy a ticket myself, I don’t have a house yet and our family needs one.

via davidperry

Thanks David for the tip!

Raffle for a Dream House in Noe Valley, San Francisco!

dream house, Events, News, noe valley, raffle, san-francisco

Parking is NOT provided for Jurors in San Francisco!

max — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:53:00 +0000

Well, I got summoned for jury duty here in San Francisco. Not surprisingly parking is NOT provided for jurors nor are they reimbursed. I think the city should at least pay for parking, especially for people like me who don’t live near the City Hall. Oh well, that’s one thing I would change, although I guess I can take muni, I just wish they reimburse people for jury duty, really.

Parking is NOT provided for Jurors in San Francisco!

jurors, News, not provided, Parking, san-francisco, superior court

Pillow Fight Event Charged $30K for City Cleanup!

max — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:45:50 +0000

Seriously, people who want to have pillow fights in San Francisco should be more aware about environmental issues, this isn’t acceptable:

Honestly, I think they should ban the event or at least hold it inside a building, having this kind of flash mob isn’t going to help us hard-working tax-payers.

What do you think?

City officials are trying to determine the organizers of the annual Valentine’s Day flash-mob-esque event to have them pay the $35,000 tab for cleaning up the last two years’ events, said Mohammed Nuru, the department’s deputy director.

“Should the city be cleaning up after these people?” Nuru said. “As a resident of this city, I really don’t think my tax dollars should be going to this kind of thing.”

Pillow Fight Event Charged $30K for City Cleanup!

city, Events, News, Pillow Fight

Tsunami Hawaii Watch – Live Video!

max — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:45:40 +0000

Tsunami is about to hit Hawaii as a result of Chile’s recent 8.8 magnitude earthquake!

My prayers that it’s not too devastating!

As some of you well know, earthquake has hit Chile earlier today, an 8.8 magnitude, one of the largest earthquakes in history of mankind. My regards for people in Chile, stay strong!

It seems that has set off tsunamis that are heading towards Hawaii as I am writing this blog post. I believe most residents have evacuated and hopefully, the tsunami won’t be devastating to Hawaii. Watch the video above to see the action live, it should hit any minute.

via zedomax

Tsunami Hawaii Watch – Live Video!

live video, News, tsunami, Tsunami Hawaii video

Tsunami Warning for San Francisco Ocean Beach!

max — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:36:41 +0000

San Francisco gets its Tsunami warning due to Chile’s 8.8 magnitude earthquake earlier today. I can actually see ocean beach from my apartment here and starting to see some really huge waves.

Forecasted waves are going to be 2.5 feet in height so it shouldn’t really affect San Francisco but still you should stay away from the ocean for next couple hours.

Also, you can watch the Hawaii Tsunami watch video live here.

Tsunami Warning for San Francisco Ocean Beach!

Beaches, News, ocean-beach, san-francisco, tsunami warning

Sprint Rolling out 4G and WiMax in San Francisco This Year!

max — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:21:56 +0000

Here’s some great news for gadget lovers out there, Sprint will be rolling out 4G (WiMax) in San Francisco by the end of this year. For one, I have experienced 4G speeds at CES 2010 this year in Las Vegas and it certainly is about 10-20 times faster than regular 4G.

What does this mean for San Franciscans?

4G WiMax is faster than most DSL/cable modems, this means that you will no longer need to actually subscribe to a DSL/Cable internet. Instead, you will be able to get away with just a 4G router that works wirelessly, no wires needed.

Like pagers and cellphones, DSL/cable modems and WiMax routers will be what’s happnin’ for real over the next couple months.

P.S. One thing that peeves me though is that why didn’t Sprint roll out 4G in San Francisco first? It’s one of the more important cities to have 4G plus San Francisco’s coverage isn’t as big as other bigger cities so it should be easier/quicker. Nevermind that, I am really looking forward to having 4G, no more cable bills!

Press Release:

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Feb 24, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Improved mobile Internet access is coming soon to millions more Americans, with plans announced today by Sprint (NYSE:S) to bring 4G to several additional markets across the country in 2010. These markets will join 27 cities where Sprint 4G is already available. Sprint 4G offers turbo-charged mobile broadband, delivering peak download speed up to 10 times faster than 3G.1 The result is the Sprint 4G difference – a new and improved Internet experience that benefits every kind of online user, for the same price as 3G – from the only national wireless carrier offering 4G service.

Sprint expects to launch 4G service this year in many markets, including Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Houston, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. More Sprint 4G markets will be announced at a later date. Sprint 4G is expected to cover up to 120 million people by the end of 2010.

Sprint Rolling out 4G and WiMax in San Francisco This Year!

2010, 4g, News, san-francisco, sprint, Technology, wimax

Yelp Review – Yelp Sued For Fraud!

max — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:15:14 +0000

It seems like one of San Francisco’s favorite review sites Yelp, has been sued for fraud by local business that claim Yelp would remove negative reviews for paying advertisers. I have been using Yelp for several years now and I would have to say in general Yelp is pretty darn accurate when it comes to honest, consumer review of restaurants and local businesses. I think businesses that don’t do well with Yelp are the ones that are suing Yelp.

Why? They don’t need negative reviews online, especially if they don’t go online themselves.

I think there’s a fine line between having negative reviews and fake reviews. Yelp should be more careful with every negative review that comes up for businesses while businesses should be aware that it’s not hard for San Franciscans to give them bad rep at click of their smartphones.

I have also been witness to when Yelp first started, I saw a bunch of Craiglist ads from Yelp asking college students to review local businesses for $5 a piece. I know that’s how they started but those reviews I believe are still valid because they got paid for honest reviews, not for fakin’ it.

Well, we will see how it all goes down but Yelp remains in my book as something that San Franciscans need to fight back against local businesses that shouldn’t be operating anyways.

The allegations, embodied in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday, go like this: On some occasions, if someone posts a negative review of, say, a restaurant, Yelp workers will call the restaurant and offer an advertising package whereby for, say, $300, the restaurant will get some advertising on the site as well as the bad review removed.

via foxnews

Yelp Review – Yelp Sued For Fraud!

advertisers, college students, local businesses, News, san franciscans, san-francisco, yelp fraud, yelp review, yelp sued

Chinese New Year Parade in San Fran 27th and 28th!

max — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:55:36 +0000

For those of you who want to watch the Chinese New Year street fair, you will want to head down near downtown tomrrow between 10am to 4:30pm and also 9am to 5pm on Sunday. More details here.

February 27 – 28
Saturday 10:00am-4:30pm
Sunday 9:00am-5:00pm
Chinese New Year Community Street Fair
Grant Avenue from California to Pacific
Pacific Avenue from Kearny to Stockton
Washington and Jackson Streets from Kearny to Stockton
Free

Chinese New Year Parade in San Fran 27th and 28th!

chinese new year, Events, parade, san-fran

Crazy Weather Today in San Francisco!

max — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:38:04 +0000

Today’s weather was pretty freakin’ crazy, wasn’t it? At first it was windy like hell in the morning, then the showers came for couple hours, now it’s bright and sunny. I can see the ocean from my apartment here and it has cleared up rather nicely!

Tomorrow should be a better day, I will be taking pictures in the beautiful San Francisco sunshine!

Crazy Weather Today in San Francisco!

crazy weather, News, san-francisco, sf

San Francisco Will Be Labeling Cell Phones with Radiation Level Labels!

max — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:56:48 +0000

Mayor Gavin Newsom and city of San Francisco will be proposing that all cellphones sold in San Francisco to be labeled with levels of radiation. I, for one, think this is a great idea and should be done all over the country. Radiation can have dramatic affects on humans and other nearby consumer electronics. We know radiation is bad, why don’t we have a label for it yet?

San Francisco would become the first city in the country to require that cell phone retailers label the devices with the level of radiation they emit under a controversial proposal being discussed at the Department of the Environment and endorsed by Mayor Gavin Newsom.

San Francisco Will Be Labeling Cell Phones with Radiation Level Labels!

cell phones, levels of radiation, News, san-francisco

Why You Shouldn’t Be a Parking Officer in San Francisco!

max — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:57:52 +0000

In a recent event, a San Francisco woman punched a parking officer for giving her a parking ticket. Of course, I can understand the frustrations as sometimes parking officers in San Francisco can be really annoying as hell, especially if they write you a ticket even though you are there at the last second.

But that is no reason to punch anyone and this woman suffers the consequences:

The incident happened Nov. 21, 2006, after Barsi wrote a parking ticket for Magailalio’s car on Valencia Street outside St. Luke’s Hospital. Magailalio was inside with her then-8-year-old son at a doctor’s appointment.

Magailalio came out, saw Barsi writing the ticket and asked her to rip it up. Barsi told her she could appeal to the parking control agency and drove off.

Magailalio followed in her car and confronted Barsi again a few blocks away, swore at the parking control officer, then punched her repeatedly before a bystander pulled her away. Barsi suffered a dislocated shoulder and missed eight months of work.

“I need to watch my temper. I know I’m wrong,” Magailalio told police at the scene.

Prosecutor Victor Hwang asked Ross to sentence Magailalio to time behind bars, preferably three years in state prison. “A message must be sent,” he said, based on the injury alone.

He said later that the city’s parking control officers should be protected by the courts and that assaults on them should be dealt with harshly.

Sentencing Magailalio to home detention, he told Ross, would be equivalent to ordering her to spend six months “watching big-screen TV.”

Barsi addressed the court, telling Magailalio: “Home detention, frankly, is a joke. You need to pay for your actions in County Jail.”

Defense attorney Joe O’Sullivan pointed out that Magailalio had no criminal history and said she would benefit from taking anger management classes. He also noted that his client lives in public housing and has no big screen TV.

The moral?

I just don’t think being a parking officer is a smart idea in San Francisco or any metropolitan city where you are really risking your life to get beat someday. Unless they let actual police officers do the actual jobs, parking officers will always have to watch out for crazies.

My advice, don’t be a parking officer no matter what, perhaps that is the worst job of all. Don’t get me wrong, I love my local parking officers who give tickets to nearby college students who park in my neighborhood. (thanks for that btw, otherwise our neighborhood would never have an empty parking spot!)

Why You Shouldn’t Be a Parking Officer in San Francisco!

News, Parking, parking officer, san-francisco, why

San Francisco Becomes the Greenest City in America!

max — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:20:11 +0000

One of the things I admire about San Francisco is the lack of pollution and abundance of natural gas-powered/electric buses. Well, San Francisco’s landmark building the Transamerica just got certified by LEED as a “green” architecture, bringing San Francisco to the lead as the greenest city in America.

Just yesterday, one of our favorite mayors, Gavin Newsom in one of our favorite cities, San Francisco, announced that SF’s landmark Transamerica Pyramid Building, will now be classified as one of the greenest in the nation! That’s right, the famous San Francisco landmark was awarded LEED Gold certification yesterday, boosting San Francisco ahead of New York or Los Angeles in terms of cities with the most green buildings. Way to go, San Francisco!

via inhabitat

San Francisco Becomes the Greenest City in America!

america, greenest city, leed, News, san-francisco

Photos of Golden Gate Bridge!

max — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:09:08 +0000

Today, I went to Fort Point and took some photos using my new Canon 7D DSLR camera, here’s the results:

(Golden Gate Bridge Close-up)

(Golden Gate Bridge near Fort Point)

(Another shot of Golden Gate Bridge near Sunset)

(Wide shot of Golden Gate Bridge)

(Shot of the Pier at Fort Point, a great place to fish for crabs, sharks, and more. It was amazing that I caught a fisherman, tourists taking photos, baby/mother, and some guy all in one photo. Oh yeah, don’t forget the bird in the middle, ha!)

(Fort Point, exploring the area!)

(View of downtown from Fort Point)

Also, a short video I made in 1080P HD:

Photos of Golden Gate Bridge!

Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, hd video, photos, Pictures, video, Videos

San Francisco Real Estate Hits Its High for This Year!

max — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:23:30 +0000

UPDATE: I just talked to my real estate expert friend and he says this chart is a fluke, there’s still a ton of foreclosures and the market isn’t going up!

According to SocketSite.com, SF real estate hits its high for this year at a median price around $690k.

Have we hit bottom yet? This is something we still don’t know for sure but at least it’s great signs of recovery in economy.

For those of you looking to buy a new house, this might actually not be the best time since we don’t know for sure. If you take chances now and market drops for the next couple months, you will surely regret it.

Well, I am not a real estate expert but from what I can see, it’s still a volatile market not worth investing in just yet…

wF6gFtdg

San Francisco Real Estate Hits Its High for This Year!

high, hits, News, Real Estate, Real Estate, san-francisco

SF Exploratorium Tour!

max — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:41:31 +0000

The other day, I had the pleasure of using my new Canon 7D DSLR camera to record SF Exploratorium in 1080P HD. Watch these vids!

SF Exploratorium Tour!

exploratorium, hd video, sf, sf-tourists, tour, Videos

California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco – HD Video and Images Shot using Canon 7D!

max — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:04:54 +0000

Check out some of the shots I took using my new Canon 7D!

This is the building next to California Academy of Sciences. Duh!

Check out this cool lizard!

Starfish, is Patrick the Starfish here?

A cool bird…

Here’s a big giant skull of something…

The Optibike, I think it’s an electric bike.

Scary dinosaur head!

Did you know about Homo Erectus skull?

This is my favorite part of California Academy of Sciences, the rattlesnake! Today, it was hiding but I was able to get a photo taken barely.

Lots and lots of aquariums and fish at California Academy of Sciences, kids definitely love this part.

This is the new roof of California Academy of Sciences equipped with enough solar panels to save a lot of energy for the facility. They were closing (at 5pm) so we were forced off the roof but gladly I have a membership so I can come back anytime.

And here’s a short video I made for those of you who don’t live near San Francisco using my new Canon 7D:

California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco – HD Video and Images Shot using Canon 7D!

california academy of sciences, canon 7d, Eating Out, hd video, images, san-francisco, sf

Car Towed After Car Found from Car Theft?

max — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:36:08 +0000

Here’s something you should know, that you will still have to pay towing fees if your car is found after a car theft. (that is if you don’t pick up the car within a reasonable amount of time of 20 minutes.) I guess this only goes for non-SF residents so… just know!

Two weeks ago, Espinoza was attending a high school fundraiser in North Beach. At some point, Espinoza realized that he’d had too many drinks to drive, so he called a taxi.

The ride ended up costing him an additional $330. That’s because the next day his 1995 Nissan Maxima was missing.

“I got a call from the police dispatcher about 7 that night. He said the car was found and I could either pick it up in the next 20 minutes or they could tow it,” Espinoza said.

Car Towed After Car Found from Car Theft?

car, car found, car theft, News, sf, towed

Bay Bridge S-Curve Causing a Havoc and Truck Driver Killed!

max — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:30:42 +0000

The Bay Bridge, with its temporary S-curve in place during the build of the new Bay Bridge, is causing havoc among drivers including this truck driver who drove his big rig off the bridge and careened into the ground.

The accident — where a big rig truck toppled over the bridge at around 3:30 a.m. on Monday, killing the driving and reducing the truck to a pile of rubble — occurred because the driver was going way traveling around 50 mph, or so said witnesses at the scene.

I’ve also noticed a big slowdown whenever cars reach this curved area. My advice? Just go a bit slower I guess.

Bay Bridge S-Curve Causing a Havoc and Truck Driver Killed!

bay bridge, havoc, News, s-curve, truck driver killed

Catching Leopard Sharks in SF Bay!

max — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:40:14 +0000

I’ve caught a few leopard sharks off the Pacifica pier before, here’s a good video of someone catching one in SF Bay, I think this is somewhat near Foster City in the inner bay, where there’s a LOT of sharks.

Also check out this cool Pacifica Pier Pool with bunch of cool photos.

Catching Leopard Sharks in SF Bay!

catching, Fishing, leopard sharks, sf bay

Free Ocean Beach Sunset Wallpapers!

max — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:02:39 +0000

(Click to enlarge)

Yesterday, I stayed long enough at Ocean Beach to capture the last bits of Sunset in San Francisco. Here’s 2 free Ocean Beach sunset wallpapers you can enjoy of the Pacific Ocean on the west coast, courtesy of SFBlogg.com. – Enjoy~

Free Ocean Beach Sunset Wallpapers!

Beaches, free, ocean-beach, Pictures, Sunset, wallpapers

Ocean Beach Wall Graffiti Sideways!

max — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:56:58 +0000

Every time I go to Ocean Beach, there seems to be new graffiti sprayed over the old ones. Yesterday, I took 2 photos sideways of the Ocean Beach walls, enjoy~

Ocean Beach Wall Graffiti Sideways!

Beaches, graffiti, images, ocean beach wall, photos, Pictures, Pictures, sideways

Ocean Beach + Cliff House Images!

max — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:54:42 +0000

Here’s some more shots of ocean beach sand and cliff house far away, call me an Ocean Beach addict, I know.

Ocean Beach + Cliff House Images!

Beaches, cliff-house, images, ocean-beach, Pictures

Ocean Beach Bird Photos!

max — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:50:07 +0000

Check out some of these photos I took at Ocean Beach yesterday of 2 birds.

He kept walking away from me, perhaps I was scaring him.

Nice bird couple here, are they enjoying the views?

Another shot of the bird at Ocean Beach.

Here’s a shot I took right before the bird took off for good.

Ocean Beach Bird Photos!

Beaches, bird photos, ocean-beach, Pictures

Bay Bridge Open Again!

max — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:23:51 +0000

Looks like Bay Bridge open again just now! Yey!

Bay Bridge Open Again!

bay bridge open, News

Photos During Golden gate Bridge Construction!

max — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:01:43 +0000

Life.com has some great pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge during the construction. I can appreciate these pictures very much, wished they were also in color. Well, perhaps someone is taking some photos of the new Golden Gate Bridge?

Photos During Golden gate Bridge Construction!

construction, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, photos, Pictures

Bay Bridge Closed, Causes Havoc All Over Bay Area!

max — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:32:54 +0000

(Me, going 5MPH on San Mateo Bridge, talk about traffic, this is the most traffic I’ve seen on this bridge ever! I know because I used to go over this bridge on my daily commute to Foster City.)

As you probably well know, Bay Bridge is closed due to some “parts” coming apart in the recent repairs. I am sure this is one of the first times Bay Bridge had to be closed on weekdays, probably already caused millions of dollars in damage to some businesses such as transportation.

Not only that, closure of the Bay Bridge had devastating effects on the rest of the SF Bay Area as I found out today.

What usually is a 30-minute drive from my apartment in San Francisco to San Leandro using either Bay Bridge or the San Mateo Bridge, it took me 2 hours. And I even left early to avoid traffic times around 2PM.

Also, I have to note that traffic in San Leandro the city itself was really bad, a lot of travelers trying to get through the massive traffic by taking city roads.

Let me tell you, with the Bay Bridge closed, it causes all kinds of havoc all over the Bay Area.

Not only is this bad for people like me who avoid traffic anyways but for the economy. I’ve seen so many trucks just stuck in this massive traffic, plus they might cause more havoc on city roads where they are not supposed to go but some of them don’t have a choice.

Beyond that, think about how much gas is wasted due to all the extra traffic built up around the Bay Area.

Not good, the last time it was this bad was probably the 1989 Earthquake when Bay Bridge was closed for awhile.

I am sure this event will have a big impact on a lot of SF Bay Area businesses and all this because of failure of CalTrans engineering team to foresee its structure not holding up in the wind. Great, CalTrans should be handling things more carefully the next time around, at least fire the guy who’s in charge now, he/she obviously didn’t do the right job.

On top of all this, I saw a lot of road work by CalTrans last couple weeks in San Francisco AND in San Leandro. Talk about bad timing, I hope next time CalTrans does some kind of emergency delay for their road work if Bay Bridge happens to be closed.

Today’s drive was a nightmare as before I got on the highway, I had to deal with traffic in San Francisco while CalTrans worked on local roads. (Why in the heck would you do that if Bay Bridge is closed? I know, the CalTrans employees need to get paid but this is causing even more havoc and causing thousands of dollars for local businesses!)

I got on the highway, it was fine until I hit San Mateo, it took me almost an hour to cross the bridge at abou 2:30PM.

Then, I took a shortcut using San Leandro’s city roads. AGAIN, I hit some massive traffic due to road construction. WHY ISN’T CALTRANS doing anything about this?

Well, I just hope that we have someone smarter working at CalTrans or at least hire someone who can manage emergency scheduling for the workers.

No hard feelings but CalTrans, this was your fault, now please fix it ASAP!

P.S. The Houston Rockets Team took the Ferry from their San Fran hotel to Oakland because Bay Bridge was closed.

Bay Bridge Closed, Causes Havoc All Over Bay Area!

bay bridge closed, bay-area, Getting Around, havoc, News, sf

Walter Lembi WANTED by Clark County, Nevada and Caesar’s Place!

max — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:14:36 +0000

Walter Lembi, the owner of about 300 apartment buildings in San Francisco and on the Peninsula, has been WANTED by Clark County, Nevada for defaulting on a check at Caesar’s Palace.

Trouble by bad business practice such as nonpayment of security deposits, and a long-standing city suit for unfair business practices and tenant harassment, Walter Lembi seems to have gone to the “gamble” route but it’s obviously not paying off.

According to the Clark County, Nev., district attorney’s office, there is a warrant out for Walter Lembi, managing director of the financially troubled Lembi Group, for allegedly passing $298,500 worth of bad checks earlier this year at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

According to a document from the Clark County district attorney’s office, dated July 1, the check fraud division is seeking restitution in the amount of $328,450 (including fees). The document lists Lembi’s recorded home address in Burlingame

Walter Lembi WANTED by Clark County, Nevada and Caesar’s Place!

caesar's palace, clark county, nevada, News, walter lembi, wanted

Highway Graffiti in San Francisco!

max — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:42:42 +0000

Check out this graffiti someone managed to draw over the weekend. I guess they are trying to catch who did it but I think it’s a work of an art with a taste of thrill other than they shouldn’t do it again probably.

via sfist

Highway Graffiti in San Francisco!

highway graffiti, News, san-francisco

Video of San Francisco from 1958!

max — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:06:11 +0000

Check out this great video of San Francisco from 1958. I would have to say not much has changed other than renovated buildings but SF does look much cleaner in 1958 with not as many (perhaps none) homeless on the streets.

Jeff Altman of Chicago discovered this beautiful old film reel of his grandfather’s, entitled “Alameda 1958.” Altman’s grandfather, who is pictured in front of the camera and behind the scenes, had traveled to San Francisco via a navy aircraft. Altman also has a reel documenting his grandfather’s voyage to SF, which he will be posting on Vimeo soon

via sfist

Video of San Francisco from 1958!

1958, san-francisco, video, Videos

SF Halloween Parties?

max — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 06:30:19 +0000

Looking to party this Halloween in San Francisco? Well, since last year, the Halloween Party in Castro has been shut down. This year too, there’s no party in Castro. I was at the very last Castro party 2 years ago (when a guy got shot I believe), it was promising but you aren’t missing out much. You simply need to find another party to go to I guess.

The Halloween party over at Parc 55 Hotel might be a good one to go to as there’s some big room there plus bunch of DJs. Not sure about any other smaller parties, you might want to actually stay away from big crowds and overpriced bars and whatnot.

And one more thing, stay away from any parties at the City Hall if you actually like enjoy dancing. The City Hall is a great venue for outdoor events but the worst place for indoor club music. I went there 2 years ago for New Years Eve and the music just banged around City Hall walls like crazy. Anyways, just stay away but there’s Bell Graham Civic Auditorium, which is right next to it and “very nice”. (that’s where I saw DJ Tiesto for the first time btw.)

Just be safe out there, there’s a lot of crazy people in San Francisco. I know because I am one of them.

P.S. And one more thing, cops can’t try to sell you drugs if you ask them if they are a cop first. (If they say no and they are cops and you get arrested for possession of drugs, you will get off. It’s entrapment. I can’t believe cops have been doing that at parties, fuck them.) And also, you shouldn’t be doing drugs anyways, at least not in public.

(Image Credit)

SF Halloween Parties?

Events, sf halloween parties

Twin Peaks Video in HD!

max — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:41:36 +0000

I took a video of Twin Peaks in San Francisco with my Flip Mino HD camera. Well, I wish I had one of those new Canon EOS 7D DSLR cameras, the footage would look much better.

Twin Peaks Video in HD!

hd, Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks, video

Market Street View from Twin Peaks!

max — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:05:29 +0000

Here’s a view of the downtown and Market Street head on taken from Twin Peaks.

Market Street View from Twin Peaks!

market street, Pictures, SF Downtown, Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks, view

Golden Gate Bridge Photo from Twin Peaks!

max — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:59:32 +0000

Check out this photo I took today of Golden Gate Bridge from Twin Peaks!

Golden Gate Bridge Photo from Twin Peaks!

Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, photo, Pictures, Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks

Alternative Press Expo 2009 Photos!

max — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 05:10:12 +0000

Scott Beal from LaughingSquid(the SF hosting company) has gone to the Alternative Press Expo 2009 in San Francisco (that I didn’t know about) and took some cool pics of what’s going on around there. – link (via)

Alternative Press Expo 2009 Photos!

2009, alternative press expo, Events, photos, Pictures

Golden Gate Bridge Photos!

max — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:45:18 +0000

Took these photos of Golden Gate Bridge, can you guess where I took them from?

Golden Gate Bridge Photos!

golden gate, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, golden gate bridge photos, Pictures

SF Sutro Baths 2009 Photos!

max — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:35:51 +0000

Today, I went to the newly “renovated” Sutro Baths in San Francisco near where I live. I mean renovated, they have actually cleaned up the “trails” along the Sutro.

Btw, Sutro Baths used to be one of the biggest public swimming pools in the world, all powered by ocean water. It would have been nice to still have it but oh well, I guess they ran out of money plus there was that fire… darn….

Here’s some photos I took today at the SF Sutro:

(Above right is inside the cave they used to recycle water to the Sutro Baths pool)

(Above right is looking outside from the cave.)

SF Sutro Baths 2009 Photos!

Beaches, ocean water, Parks, photos, Pictures, pool, public swimming pools, san-francisco, sutro baths

Free SF Ocean Beach After Storm Desktop Wallpapers

max — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:16:42 +0000

Here’s some more photos I took today at Ocean Beach after our first fall storm. It was really windy but I got some good pics you can use as free desktop wallpapers.

(This one featuring the Cliff House on Ocean Beach)

(After the storm, the beach kinda transformed into dunes or somethin….)

(More Cliff House…)

(Opposite view towards the downtown, notice “Kelly’s Cove”?)

(See this one, weeeeird!)

Free SF Ocean Beach After Storm Desktop Wallpapers

Beaches, free desktop wallpapers, ocean-beach, photos, Pictures

Ocean Beach San Franciso 360 Degree View Free Desktop Wallpaper

max — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:06:52 +0000

(Click to enlarge)

Today, I took a 360 degree view stitched photo of Ocean Beach San Francisco. Here’s a free Wallpaper you can use if you care to feel like being at Ocean Beach, San Francisco!

Ocean Beach is my favorite beach in San Francisco, also because it’s the only beach that outlooks the Pacific Ocean.

Also note, this is “Kelly’s Cove”, that’s what the local surfers call it and displayed on the ocean beach walls.

Ocean Beach San Franciso 360 Degree View Free Desktop Wallpaper

360 degree view, Beaches, favorite beach, free desktop wallpaper, free wallpaper, Kelly's Cove, ocean ocean, ocean-beach, pacific ocean, photo, Pictures, san franciso, san-francisco

The PlayGround from LoveFest

max — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:09:30 +0000

The playground at LoveFest inside City Hall is probably one of the popular locations, here’s my pics from LoveFest.

The PlayGround from LoveFest

city hall, Events, lovefest, LoveFest, Pictures, playground

Reinstate the Constitution Army Truck at LoveFest!

max — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:08:07 +0000

I spotted this “reinstate the constitution” army truck during LoveFest, cool.

Reinstate the Constitution Army Truck at LoveFest!

army truck, constitution, Events, LoveFest, Pictures

The Weed Man at LoveFest!

max — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 06:07:13 +0000

Here’s the “weed man” at Lovefest.

The Weed Man at LoveFest!

Events, lovefest, LoveFest, Pictures, weed man

San Francisco City Hall Wallpaper Photos!

max — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:06:27 +0000

Here’s some high-res shots I took at San Francisco City Hall the other day. I am not a photographer but want to become better at it, here’s my best work… These would go great as you computer wallpaper btw, feel free to use. For commercial use, please contact me first at zedomax [at] gmail.com, thanks!

San Francisco City Hall Wallpaper Photos!

city hall, computer wallpaper, photographer, photos, Pictures, san francisco city, san francisco city hall, san-francisco, SF Downtown, wallpaper, wallpaper photos

LoveFest 09 Photo – Giagantic Peace Signs!

max — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:14:44 +0000

LoveFest was a blast this year, there’s been more people than I have ever seen during the last 3 years I have attended. Instead of just posting all the pics, I’ve decided to slowly release the best of the show, so please subscribe as I have about 2000+ photos to blog over about next couple weeks!

The first one, is this “gigantic peace sign” some people were holding, very interesting. (I wonder it’s heavy…)

LoveFest 09 Photo – Giagantic Peace Signs!

09, 2009, Events, lovefest, LoveFest, peace sign, photo

Giant Claw Game at Fisherman’s Wharf!

max — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:47:38 +0000

I was over at Fisherman’s Wharf today and found something new, a GIANT Claw Game. It’s $3 for a play but you can possibly win one of these big a** toys.

Anyways, I didn’t play because I rather just buy one but next time you are at Fisherman’s Whart, you might want to check it out.

(I feel like Fisherman’s Wharf is turning more into some kind of “gambling” place for tourists, becoming even more of a tourist trap. Oh well, I guess tourism business isn’t doing too well lately…)

Giant Claw Game at Fisherman’s Wharf!

fisherman, Fisherman's Wharf, game, giant claw, tourism business, tourist trap, tourists, toys

Another Great Place to Watch Downtown San Francisco Fireworks!

max — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 08:07:45 +0000

I just thought of this, you should go to Treasure Island, which is an island that faces downtown San Francisco over the water. It’s the perfect spot as you won’t have to deal with crowds, if you can find a good parking spot. (There’s a secret area behind the island under constuction you can park for Bay Bridge…)

Anyways, I love Treasure Island, it’s perfect spot for watching the fireworks on July 4th, Independence Day, or in my words, the day of freedom that everyone should celebrate. Hurray! Tomorrow I will not be blogging but Happy Independence Day! I am finally FREE!!!

My dream for the day, “let everyone single person be free for this day from work and stress.”